Marco Rubio said that both Russia and Ukraine will have to make “concessions” in order to reach the peace deal promised by Donald Trump as he offered a full-throated defense of the president-elect’s vision for America’s role around the world – and his own hawkish record on foreign policy.
Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, told the Senate foreign relations committee that the war in Ukraine had become a “stalemate” and “has to end”; that the US should show China that it would pay “too high” a price for invading Taiwan; and that European countries have to stop treating US support for Nato as an “excuse to … spend on domestic needs”.
Speaking on the war in Ukraine, which Trump had vowed to end within 24 hours of taking office, Rubio said that there was “no way Russia takes all of Ukraine” – but also that Ukraine would not be able to retake all its sovereign territory held by Russia.
In order to reach a peace deal, Rubio continued, “there will have to be concessions made by the Russian Federation, but also by the Ukrainians and the United States.”
US sanctions on Russia may also enter the discussion, Rubio said, noting that they gave Washington “leverage” over Russia and that they would “have to be part of this conversation in terms of bringing about a … resolution”.
Rubio, a notable hawk on China and Cuba whose nomination is expected to sail through the committee, sought to defend a muscular US foreign policy while also tailoring his views to a more Trump-friendly vision that matches the president-elect’s “America First” policy. Trump has called for less US involvement abroad in Ukraine and Nato, in a sharp departure from the position of the Biden administration and many Republican lawmakers.
“Prudence in the conduct of foreign policy is not an abandonment of our values,” Rubio said in his opening remarks. “It’s the commonsense understanding that while we remain the wealthiest and the most powerful nation on the Earth, our wealth has never been unlimited … Placing our core national interest above all else is not isolation.” It is a “commonsense realization”, he added.
“While America has far too often prioritized the global order above national interest, other nations continue to act as they will,” he also said. “Nations proceed in their own best interest.”
Rubio’s nomination is expected to be less contentious than those of other Trump appointments, including Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary who had been sharply criticised for his lack of experience and allegations of troubling behaviour, including sexual assault and excessive alcohol consumption.
But Rubio’s opening remarks were disrupted several times by protesters from leftwing activist groups who called him a “war hawk” and decried his record of support for sanctions abroad before being dragged out of the hearing room by Capitol police.
Medea Benjamin, an organiser for the activist group Code Pink who attended the hearing, said that the protesters were concerned that Trump was “surrounding himself with all of these war hawks, and Marco Rubio is one of them”.
“A lot of us are upset with the Democrats and the Republicans, and we think that we’re being run by two parties that are very pro-war and giving almost a trillion dollars to the Pentagon when we have so many needs here at home … I think left and right come together, because that is the general sentiment in this country,” she said.
In his opening remarks, the Senate foreign relations committee chair, Jim Risch, called Rubio his “great friend” and praised his record on foreign policy, including his aggressive stance on China and Cuba in holding them “accountable for their oppressive tyranny”.
“Senator Rubio, there is a long laundry list of crises,” said Risch. “You’ve earned yourself one of the hardest jobs in America. But after serving with you for so many years. I’m confident you are the right person to take on the threats we face.”
The New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to Rubio’s previous support for Ukraine but said that “the path forward is uncertain, and I hope today you will lay out some of the administration’s plans for Ukraine”.
She also asked about the administration’s policy on Syria and plans for the state department, where many have worried that Trump would plan to defund or potentially abolish certain divisions, including the office of global women’s issues.
